Release Day Review – ‘A Dark and Hollow Star’ by Ashley Shuttleworth

TITLES: A Dark and Hollow Star
AUTHOR: Ashley Shuttleworth
GENRE: YA Fantasy
WORD/PAGE COUNT: 512 pages (hardcover)
PUBLICATION DETAILS: by Hodder & Stoughton on February 25th, 2021

Choose your player.

The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family.
A tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge.
A dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne.
The prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret.

For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world.

Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?

Wish them luck. They’re going to need it.

In this ambitious debut by Ashley Shuttleworth, A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR injects magic into modern day Toronto with the existence of secret magical communities partitioned away from regular humans, but still nestled alongside them. That choice gives the book a unique feel as most stories about fae portray them in a separate world altogether, but keeping mundane mortals in the mix adds higher stakes, more complicated politics and a bunch of fun pop culture references.

My favorite part of this book is that all four main characters are queer. Normally I hope in vain that an author will have just ONE character with LGBT+ rep and my cup overrunneth with joy at the f/f and m/m ships we’re treated to here! 

Alecto is the exiled Fury who takes on the name Nausicaä as she sets about causing as much mischief and chaos as possible to distract herself from her grief and depression after the loss of her sister. She’s a sarcastic badass who acts arrogantly aloof, but secretly has a heart of gold, and I love how she’s a twist on the Bad Boy trope, only BETTER!

Arlo is a more typical YA protagonist with one foot in both the human and magical societies, feeling like an outcast who doesn’t truly belong anywhere and desperate to prove she’s good enough to join the fae society. Instead, she’s dangerously close to being deemed unworthy and banished. Their interactions are the highlight of the book for me, I absolutely adore the tension and chemistry between them, and the incredibly slow-burn romance is a thing of beauty!

The boys take more of a backseat in this book, which is fine by me as I’m all about the ladies, but I know a lot of readers will be crushing hard on Vehan, who is an earnestly wholesome little cinnamon roll, too precious for this world. He’s noble and principled, understands his privilege as the High Prince and works hard to do right by everyone and not let anybody down. Vehan is the complete opposite of the arrogant alpha fae prince stereotype we often encounter, and I love that for him.

Aurelian was his childhood friend, later selected to become his bodyguard, and he’s moody, broody and wrestling with deep, dark secrets. The two of them are completely head-over-heels for each other and Because of Reasons, the boys haven’t had the opportunity to confess their mutual affection so while they are always together, they may as well be a thousand miles apart emotionally and so there is ALL THE YEARNING. I’m primarily here for the sapphics, but this is a pretty tasty trope I’m glad the author is exploring!

Obviously I really loved the characters, but the plot was fantastic as well! Fae are popular in YA right now, but the author takes this trend and makes it her own with a unique blend of mythology and intriguing world-building that feels solid and lived in. The political and social dynamics feel real and believable, and I admire the way we’re introduced to all this new society with so much going on but it’s doled out in manageable chunks to keep from overwhelming us. While it would’ve been fun for all the main characters to meet up earlier in the story so we could enjoy the team dynamic, it makes sense to build them up individually first; the second half of the book becomes much more exciting and adrenaline-packed once they start working together!

Pick up this fabulous fantasy for the endearing queer characters, delicious slow-burn romances, creative blend of fairy folklore with modern human society and settle in to enjoy the ride!

Disclaimer: Digital copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley free for an unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.